Thanks to Larry McGahey (webmaster, Old World Distributors )

(Entered July 13, 2000)

From Reuters in Tokyo, it was reported that Yoko filed a lawsuit in a Japanese court Thursday (July 13) demanding a Tokyo subway operator stop the sale of a ticket showing a portrait of John Lennon, according to Kyodo news agency.

Yoko, who said the Teito Rapid Transit Authority in April used a portrait of John by the artist Andy Warhol without permission on a $10 ticket, is seeking $130,000 in damages, Kyodo quoted her lawyers as saying.

Yoko said the card violated her copyright on secondary use of the portrait. Subway officials said the picture on the multiple journey ticket, which hit the market in April in conjunction with an Andy Warhol exhibition at a Tokyo museum, was provided by the organizers.

The company produced the card because a contract said the exhibition organizers would handle copyright disputes, they said.

The subway company stopped selling the card in late May after learning about the dispute in the wake of Yoko's complaint.